Mount Vernon man found guilty of attempted murder, assault

MOUNT VERNON – A city man is facing 25 years in state prison after a jury found him guilty Monday of attempted murder and assault, authorities said.

Carl Ragland of 275 S. Columbus Ave. was found to have shot a woman in the chest after an argument on June 18, said Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the Westchester District Attorney's Office.

Ragland and the woman, who authorities said had a prior relationship, had been ordering drinks in a bar when the argument began earlier that evening, Chalfen said.

Ragland, also known as "Leakumns," left the bar for an apartment complex at 241 S. Ninth Ave. He later confronted the woman outside a building at 215 S. Ninth Ave., pulling a handgun and shooting her, Chalfen said.

The woman crossed the street and called 911. When police and emergency medical services responded, she identified Ragland as her attacker, Chalfen said. The woman was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and later recovered from her injuries.

Mount Vernon and New Rochelle police were said to have found Ragland two days later, arresting him at another woman's New Rochelle home about 2:40 p.m. June 20. Chalfen said the 35-year-old, who was found hiding in a bedroom closet, resisted arrest.

Ragland, a former city Department of Public Works employee, was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies. He was additionally charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. Chalfen said the jury convicted him Monday on all counts.